Sydney Art Venues
Wondering what you could get up to on the weekends? Check out some of the cool art venues around Sydney that you can head to (and take an instragrammable picture while you’re at it!)
Art Gallery of NSW
The AGNSW is one of the most prominent and well-known galleries in Sydney, with an annual roster of around 40 exhibitions. The gallery showcases a variety of different collections year-round featuring Indigenous, European, Asian and contemporary art.
Address: Art Gallery Road, The Domain
Admission fee: Free for all permanent galleries, most events, tours and talks, but you will need to pay to access major temporary exhibitions.
Carriageworks
While Carriageworks is essentially an events space at its core, the funky Redfern venue is well known for the art-shows and exhibitions that make use of its rustic post-industrial interior. Plus, the regular festivals, markets and live music are a bonus!
Address: 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh NSW 2015
Admission fee: Most art events at Carriageworks are free, with the exception of the Sydney contemporary exhibition.
MCA
Centrally located at Circular Quay, The MCA is a dynamic art gallery with a focus on Modern Contemporary Art (hence the name). The gallery focusses on living artists and aims to make their ideas widely accessible to a range of audiences by bringing in regular exhibitions and putting on special events.
Address: 140 George Street, the Rocks
Admission fee: Free!
White Rabbit
Located in trendy Chippendale, the White Rabbit gallery is a modern venue housed in a former Rolls Royce service depot that exclusively showcases edgy contemporary Chinese art. Founded by Kerr and Judith Neilson, it’s primarily concerned with works created after 2000. The gallery usually has two new exhibitions per year. After you’ve had a cultural experience, you can grab dumplings and chrysanthemum tea in the café.
Address: 30 Balfour St, Chippendale
Admission fee: Free!
Brett Whiteley Studio
The Brett Whiteley studio was both the home of the late artist and the studio where he produced his art. He is one of the most celebrated Australian expressionists and his studio is still arranged as it was at the time of his passing. It’s open to the public most Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays 10am-4pm.
Address: 2 Raper Street, Surry Hills
Admission fee: Free!
Annandale Gallery
A hidden inner west gem, the Annandale gallery is contained within an old Methodist church. Originally built in 1860, the church has since been used as a masonic hall, before being opened in 1991 to the public as an exhibition space. The gallery allows for three exhibition spaces at a time that typically feature prominent Australian contemporary and indigenous artists, but has been known to show modern European masters such as Picasso, Matisse, Miro and Chagall.
Address: 110 Trafalgar Street, Annandale
Admission fee: Free!
Artspace - the gunnery
Established in 1983 as an artist run gallery interested in promoting experimental art, Artspace showcases emerging artists and provides an avenue for these artists to create a dialogue with their international peers.
Address: 43–51 Cowper Wharf Road, Woolloomooloo
Admission fee: Free!
4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art
4A was started in 1996 with the aim of fostering relationships between Asian and Australian artists. The centre showcases the significant role that Asian immigrant identity has had on the cultural landscape of Australia. Many of the works focus on The Asian-Australian experience, but international collections are not uncommon.
Address: 181-187 Hay Street, Haymarket
Admission fee: Exhibitions may be free or may require you to purchase tickets based on the artist’s profile.